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[European Times compiled by Qiu Tan on April 27] Even though this has helped, the United States has supported European integration. Attitude has been vacillating. The Trump administration is undoubtedly on the opposing side, and its hostility has gradually increased, even shaking the foundation of transatlantic relations.
US and European experts Célia Belin (Célia Belin) and Quentin Lopinot (Quentin Lopinot) wrote on the French public service network (vie-publique.fr) that the European Union today represents a kind of The ideological system advocated by the United States is incompatible and even goes against the ideology. As the confrontation between the United States and Europe is becoming increasingly fierce, Europeans must take correct measures to defend European unity.
The European Union, an American plan not popular with Americans
For decades, the political and economic integration of European countries has been an important part of the United States' European policy. After World War II, facing internal and external threats, the Americans made a commitment to the devastated European continent. From the Marshall Plan in 1947 to the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, they established a partnership of "interdependence and mutual benefit" with Europe. In this context, European integration has been supported by Washington from the beginning. The expansion of the alliance is also seen as a tool to consolidate democracy. As former Secretary of State Powell said in 2004, the “expansion” of the EU is a good thing for “the countries concerned and a good thing for all of Europe. It is also a good thing for our transatlantic partnership."
However, the article pointed out that although the United States has provided considerable support for the establishment of European integration, its attitude towards the European Union has always been ambiguous. In the United States, not only the public lacks understanding and attention to the EU, but even the government and international relations experts have very limited understanding of the EU's structure and institutional operations. The author points out that the EU-related think tanks within the US government are small in size and lack funding. They are often composed of European experts and are always placed under the NATO framework to consider issues.
In addition, the United States is fundamentally skeptical of Europeans’ innovative democratic experience. Whenever the EU gets into trouble, Washington will express the same view, that is, the alliance is an utopian, and the differences between countries cannot be overcome. Especially as a bureaucracy, the EU's decision-making process will inevitably be long and complicated, which further confirms the American attitude. Even if Europe's construction has made tremendous progress in the field of foreign affairs and national defense after half a century, this argument continues to appear.
The United States has always condemned Europe for "ingratitude". With the increasing imbalance of income and expenditure in the United States in the late 1950s, the establishment of the European Common Market made the United States deeply worried and began to condemn the "European barriers" in the EU economy, which developed into multiple trade wars between the two major economies. . In addition to commercial competition, the fear of "disobedient" Europe has also developed into the strategic realm. The United States has begun to limit Europe's foreign and defense policy ambitions by supporting separatists and other means. Since then, "European strategic self-control" has appeared in the speeches of many European leaders.
The picture shows US President Trump. (Image source: China News Service)
EU, Trump anti-American entities in the eyes of nationalists
The article pointed out that although most Americans generally do not care about, understand or trust the EU, but On the side of the conservative parties, the attitude towards the EU is truly disgusting. In their view, the composition of the European Union mocks the three major principles in their eyes: "Sovereignty, State and Individual Freedom". Its existence itself is contrary to the national interests of the United States.
Trump's former national security adviser Bolton has always regarded the EU as an opposition to national sovereignty. In his view, the EU is the founder and supporter of globalization projects. European countries gather their national power through the EU mechanism, which is the opposite of their instinctive tendency of "Americanism". Pompeo and other Trump supporters have repeatedly reiterated that national sovereignty means that national interests are above international standards and common values.. In the eyes of European skeptics in the United States, the EU has fallen into the “postmodern stupidity” that uses “multilateralism as the goal rather than the means” and is unwilling to think about the “new world” in which great powers compete with each other.
The American conservatives also sneered at the European transnational elites' efforts to overcome historical, cultural and religious differences to implement "European-style democracy" for the "European people." In their view, the multiculturalism represented by the European Union "successfully undermined the culture of the nation by enhancing the status and power of other cultures." Its immigration, openness, and equal rights actions are in line with American traditional values (traditional family, Christianity, defending borders) in contrast. Therefore, American conservatives support nationalist and populist movements and have ideological closeness to the traditionalist governments of Central and Eastern Europe. Brexit has been strongly welcomed, such as Trump himself qualitatively: "The British have retaken their country!"
The last criticism of the US conservatives against the EU focused on the bureaucratic nature of its institutions. As Pompeo asked: "Can the EU ensure that the interests of its country and its citizens are higher than the interests of the bureaucrats in Brussels?" Although criticism of the lengthy decision-making process of the EU's "grand coalition government" also exists within Europe, the United States is conservative The radical attacks of the school stem more from the core principle of "personal freedom" in American philosophy. Opponents even compared it with the Soviet Union. For example, Ted Malloch, a popular candidate for the U.S. ambassador to the European Union in 2017, said: "I used to contribute to the disintegration of the Soviet Union when I was a diplomat. Maybe there is another alliance now. Need to be tamed."
How should the EU react in the Trump era?
The author concluded that the Trump administration’s mistrust of the EU from ideology to political strategy must not be underestimated. In fact, the European Union is seen as a challenge to the United States. Its desire to maintain multilateralism and international order runs counter to the United States' pursuit of national interests and great power wrestling. This reality brings many risks to the EU's internal and transatlantic relations. The author of
called on the Europeans to concentrate all their energy on maintaining unity and freely choose their own destiny in this case. They will need to take on more responsibilities first and devote more resources to their own safety. The
article concludes that it is vital for the European Union to find partners outside the United States to defend multilateralism to avoid building a predatory world ruled by power alone. In order to control their own destiny, Europeans need to consider all the tools necessary to maintain strategic sovereignty on a collective level. The era opened by Trump may last a long time. In order to survive, a strong and united Europe is the only way.
(Editor: Bai Jie)
